The Accounting Podcast

What Americans Are Most Afraid of Discussing at Thanksgiving

The Accounting Podcast

Show Notes

Do money talks make your family squirm more than politics? In this Thanksgiving mailbag, Blake and David dig into a Bankrate survey on taboo money chats, the grim 2026 grad job market, and the maze of CPA experience sign-offs after NASBA’s program vanished. You’ll hear practical career advice (big firm vs. small, starting bookkeeping), what AI can and can’t do for accountants today, plus news on audit partners’ outlook and tariff shifts hitting grocery bills.

Sponsors OnPay - http://accountingpodcast.promo/onpay Cloud Accountant Staffing - http://accountingpodcast.promo/cas

Chapters (01:14) - Listener Mailbag: Top Messages of the Year

(02:05) - Thanksgiving Dinner Conversations: Money vs. Politics

(06:11) - Listener Questions: CPA Licensing Challenges

(12:07) - NASBA Data Issues and CPA Exam Pass Rates

(13:24) - Economic Optimism Among Audit Partners

(17:22) - Political News: Tariff Rollbacks

(19:03) - Career Advice for Accounting Students

(26:47) - AI's Impact on Accounting Careers

(27:34) - AI's Current Capabilities and Limitations

(31:10) - Future of AI in Accounting

(34:49) - Challenges in Accounting Education

(40:51) - Listener Mail and Feedback

(46:23) - Accounting News and Stories

Show Notes Companies Predict 2026 Will Be the Worst College Grad Job Market in Five Years https://www.wsj.com/lifestyle/careers/2026-graduates-job-market-7928bcd7

Survey: Americans would rather discuss politics or religion than what's in their bank accounts https://www.bankrate.com/banking/financial-taboos-survey/

Audit partners feel more optimistic about economy https://www.accountingtoday.com/news/audit-partners-feel-more-optimistic-about-economy

Trump lowers tariffs on coffee, beef and fruits, as Americans' concerns about affordability grow https://www.cnn.com/2025/11/14/economy/lower-tariffs-coffee-beef-bananas-produce

Georgia Accountant Arrested After Allegedly Tearing Down Trump Sign, Shooting at North Carolina Man's House https://www.cpapracticeadvisor.com/2025/10/24/georgia-accountant-arrested-after-allegedly-tearing-down-trump-sign-shooting-at-north-carolina-mans-house/171649/

Measuring AI Ability to Complete Long Tasks https://metr.org/blog/2025-03-19-measuring-ai-ability-to-complete-long-tasks/ Need CPE? Get CPE for listening to podcasts with Earmark: https://earmarkcpe.com Subscribe to the Earmark Podcast: https://podcast.earmarkcpe.com

Get in Touch Thanks for listening and the great reviews! We appreciate you! Follow and tweet @BlakeTOliver and @DavidLeary. Find us on Facebook and Instagram. If you like what you hear, please do us a favor and write a review on Apple Podcasts or Podchaser. Call us and leave a voicemail; maybe we'll play it on the show. DIAL (202) 695-1040.

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Transcripts The full transcript for this episode is available by clicking on the Transcript tab at the top of this page

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